US President Donald Trump has called for the United States military and its NATO allies to expand its on-the-ground presence in Afghanistan, specifically the UK, in proportion to the increased military presence of the United States. UK defense Secretary, Michael Fallon, opposes any further increase of UK presence in Afghanistan ahead of its incumbent commitment to send 85 military advisers to the war-torn Asian republic. Some US officials say that the troop increase will consist of up to 4,000 personnel, nearly an extra third of the amount of US personnel already in the region, excluding the troop numbers of other NATO countries in Afghanistan.(1)

The stated reason for the troop increase in Afghanistan is for the purpose of combating terrorist influence in the region, meaning the Taliban resistance against the US occupation and to counter the spread of Pakistani influence that works in conjunction with the Taliban resistance. Donald Trump, however, in an effort to convince the US populace that he is maintaining his empty promises of a Laissez Faire foreign policy, emphasizes that he is not ‘nation building’ but ‘killing terrorists.’(2)

Empty drums really do beat the loudest. US imperialism, its NATO parasite states, and even the deformed imperialist USSR have raped the country and people of Afghanistan brutally through decades of imperialist warfare. To imply that the United States has been doing the people of Afghanistan a great service by ‘civilizing’ and ‘nation-building’ the region through foreign aid schemes or humanitarian programs is a repulsive lie. US designs over Afghanistan have been motivated purely by the imperialist logic of realpolitik. US conquest over the country of Afghanistan is geared toward exploiting the region’s natural wealth, a topic that will be discussed in the article and countering imperialist rivals from the late USSR to today’s China. Both of these two factors will be expanded on later in the article. Trump’s drum, however, continues to beat this phony “humanitarian” rhythm of America’s role as being some kind of anti-terrorist force.

Resource potential of Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s natural, untapped resources are estimated at a value of $3 trillion dollars primarily due to the high volume of rare earth metals notably lithium, an essential ingredient for electronic consumer goods.(3) Lithium is used to create your laptops, smartphones, and gaming consoles; novel commodities that define the parasitic nature of First World society.

Such an economic occupation would prove invaluable to the United States. The resources required to maintain these filthy, unsustainable, consumer societies that exist in the First World do not grow on trees or fall from the sky. To manufacture consumer gadgets, keeping up with capitalism’s relentless necessity to accumulate surplus value through planned obsolescence, and the goal to satisfy the endless pit of First World greed, these resources must be acquired by any means necessary. The great Satan of the West won’t simply drain the country and impoverish the people of Afghanistan because it wants to make an extra buck, it will do these things because it has to in order to survive.

Scramble for Afghanistan US versus Chinese imperialism

China, a young but ambitious player in the game of imperialism and world hegemony, also has designs over the country of Afghanistan, presumably due to the natural riches of the country as hitherto mentioned. Indeed the demand for Lithium in China is growing at a rapid rate and as much as China is the fourth largest Lithium producing country in the world, it still needs to source its Lithium from a variety of areas so supply keeps up with demand. Mining.com highlights the growing demand for Lithium in China:

“Maybe you have missed it, but China is now “The Center Of Lithium Universe”. China is already the largest market for electric cars. BYD, Chinese company backed by Warren Buffet, is the largest EV manufacturer in the world and Chinese companies are producing the largest amount of lithium chemicals for the batteries. There are 25 companies, which are making 51 models of electric cars in China now. This year we will see over 500,000 EVs sold in China. It took GM 7 years to sell 100,000 Chevy Volts from 2009. BYD will sell 100,000 EVs this year alone!”(5)

Chinese designs over Afghanistan show through China’s new project to speed up the process of value extraction from Afghanistan: the construction of a road across the Wakhan corridor, a 76 km border between China and Afghanistan.(6)

Looking for the “lesser evil” imperialist ought not to be the only priority of the global proletariat. The global proletariat always has a choice: Communism or barbarism. The Leading Light or endless night. The global proletariat can organize itself to end the capitalist-imperialist system on the entire planet. The only true, sustainable and wholesome alternative the proletariat must leap at with both feet and grasp with two hands is the science of Leading Light Communism to pave the way toward total liberation!